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Tapioca Raspberry Verrines - Heart Of The Matter

April 17, 2007

I thought that after some richmousses, very sweet pastries and buttery brioches, B. and I could use a little dessert break. I know our waistlines and hearts would thank us...it is spring after all! There are plenty of gorgeous seasonal fruits available at the market and since we did a good house spring cleaning our eating would not suffer a lighter dessert fare.

I also thought that Ilva's and Joanna's event The Heart of The Matter was a great pretext to come up with a little easy, tasty creation using what I had picked up at the market one morning. I love raspberries....maybe as much as I love lemons. Stranded on a desert island, I would be completely satisfied with a bowl of these and a dollop of whipped cream. I don't use tapioca very much because of the gelatinous texture it takes when it is cooking. I was on the lookout for big pearled tapioca but the Asian market I go to was closed so I had to fall back on the regular kind. I was not really sure of the end result when I cooked the tapioca layer of the verrine but it thickens a bit when cooling and becomes more like rice pudding once completely refrigerated.This dessert uses minimum sugar, milk (you can use low fat), and plenty of fresh fruit. Even the topping won't put your heart into shock!

Tapioca Raspberry Verrines, from Tartelette, inspired by the cover of this book:

For the tapioca pudding:In a heavy saucepan combine the milk, tapioca and 1/4 cup sugar. Cook over medium heat until the mixture thickens up, about 10 minutes, stirring every so often. Remove from the heat and let coo to room temperature.

For the raspberry layer:Combine the remaining sugar and the raspberries in a saucepan and cook over low heat to break the raspberries a little so that they release their juices and soften up.In a small bowl, sprinkle the gelatin over the tablespoon of water and let it get soft.Remove the raspberries from the stove and gently stir in the soften gelatin. Stir until it is completely incorporated. Let cool to room temperature.

For the topping:In a saucepan, combine the graham cracker crumbs, sugar, spices and butter and cook until the mixture lumps up and gets toasty. Let cool completely.

Assemble the verrines:Divide the tapioca pudding and raspberries evenly among 4 glasses or other containers.Right before serving, sprinkle about 2 Tb. of the crumb topping among the verrines.

Funny thing is that this was meant to be shared between friends in sunday night, but a terrible wind storm kept each couple home so we had ours and we had theirs on monday night... I hope that if they read this they will invite us again...!

A bowl of raspberries and a dollop of whipped cream sounds great, stranded island or not. Tapioca and raspberries are such an unexpected combination, the textures and colors look divine and I'm sure it tasted wonderful!

What is the translation of "verrines"? I am always looking for an excuse to use pearl tapioca at work (the texture is murderously inviting to me) and to lighten up my desserts. This one meets both goals. Can you give me a little background, seeing as I am Souf Cackalacky born and bred and thusly unable to read French (or English for that matter).

What is the translation of "verrines"? I am always looking for ways to use pearl tapioca and to lighten up my desserts. This dessert fits both. Since I am Souf Cackalacky born and bred, I am unable to read much French (or English for that matter), so the link to Amazon was pretty, but not very informative for me.